News & Events

Philosophy professor William Wians has published a second volume of essays titled “Logoi and Muthoi,” exploring interdisciplinary connections between ancient Greek philosophy and literature. The chapters examine philosophical problems of knowledge and ethics in ancient writers, including Homer, Hesiod, Sophocles, Euripides, the pre-Socratics, the Sophists, Plato, Aristotle, and Lucretius. It is available on Amazon.com

Andrew Tollison, assistant professor of communication, gave a talk July 20, 2017, to the Newburyport Parkinson’s Support Group on the emotional impact of difficult medical diagnoses. Tollison emphasized the role of communication in dealing with illness, and the importance of disclosure with friends and relatives. The talk was held at the Newburyport, Massachusetts, Senior Center.

Dr. He Li has contributed to a publication titled Security, Development, and Sustainability in Asia: A World Scientific Reference on Major Policy and Development Issues of 21st Century Asia, specifically featured in Volume 2: Geoeconomics, Innovation, and Development. Li’s chapter compares India and China in terms of their governance based on the World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators.

Mary McHugh, director of the Stevens Service Learning Center and an adjunct lecturer of political science, was quoted in a May 4, 2017, Salem (Mass.) News story about Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s reelection prospects in 2018. “It’s hard to beat an incumbent, especially a popular one,” McHugh said. “And Massachusetts voters seem to like the checks and balances of having a Republican governor and Democratic Legislature.”

Assistant professor of communication and media Melissa “Mish” Zimdars, author of “Watching Our Weights: The Contradictions of Televising Fatness in the ‘Obesity Epidemic,’” was quoted in a Los Angeles Times article March 24, 2020 discussing the portrayal of fat women on television.

Sociology assistant professorDaniel Herda,with coauthors John Hagan (Northwestern) and Bill McCarthy (UCDavis),have published a study in the journalThe DuBois Review.The research looked into the connections between legal cynicism, the electoral regime of Mayor Richard M. Daley and citizen calls for police assistance and police reports of drug crime.

Michael Mascolo, professor of psychology and academic directorof the Compass program, gave a talk, “A Primer on Personal Construct Psychology,” and presented a paper, “The Failure of Objectivity: The Intersubjective Origins of Psychological Knowledge,” at the 45th International Congress of Personal Construct Psychology July 6-9, 2017, at Concordia University in Montréal. He also published several papers in 2017. They include “A Person Is Not an Object: Rethinking the Psychological Analysis of Persons” and “Understanding Personhood: Can We Get There From Here?”and “How Objectivity Undermines the Study of Personhood: Toward an Intersubjective Epistemology for Psychological Science,” all in New Ideas in Psychology.

Michael Mascolo, professor of psychology and academic director of the Compass program, published an opinion column, “Time to Listen to Each Other on the Issue of Guns,” in the Nov. 17, 2017, Salem (Mass.) News. In the article, Mascolo urges advocates on both sides of the gun-control debate to open a genuine dialogue in which they listen to each other with empathy and compassion. “Only when each side feels that their concerns have been heard and respected can there be any chance that both can join forces to find new ways to address old and lingering problems,” he wrote.

Professor Dan Herda published a research paper titled “Experienced, Anticipated, and Vicarious Discrimination” in the journal Social Currents.

Director of Campus Music Activities Hugh Hinton is the winner of the 2021 Choir Master Prize in choral conducting. This award is given each year to the person who earns the top score in the National Choir Master certification examination.